WHO Statement on the Meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency
Committee Regarding the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa
WHO Statement
8 August 2014
The first meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the Director-General under the
International Health Regulations (2005) [IHR (2005)] regarding the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease
(EVD, or “Ebola”) outbreak in West Africa was held by teleconference on Wednesday, 6
August 2014 from 13:00 to 17:30 and on Thursday, 7 August 2014 from 13:00 to 18:30
Geneva time (CET).
Members and advisors of the Emergency Committee met by teleconference on both days of
the meeting1. The following IHR (2005) States Parties participated in the informational
session of the meeting on Wednesday, 6 August 2014: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and
Nigeria.
During the informational session, the WHO Secretariat provided an update on and assessment
of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The above-referenced States Parties presented on
recent developments in their countries, including measures taken to implement rapid control
strategies, and existing gaps and challenges in the outbreak response.
After discussion and deliberation on the information provided, the Committee advised that:
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the Ebola outbreak in West Africa constitutes an ‘extraordinary event’ and a public
health risk to other States;
the possible consequences of further international spread are particularly serious in
view of the virulence of the virus, the intensive community and health facility
transmission patterns, and the weak health systems in the currently affected and most
at-risk countries.
a coordinated international response is deemed essential to stop and reverse the
international spread of Ebola;
It was the unanimous view of the Committee that the conditions for a Public Health
Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) have been met.
The current EVD outbreak began in Guinea in December 2013. This outbreak now involves
transmission in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. As of 4 August 2014, countries
have reported 1 711 cases (1 070 confirmed, 436 probable, 205 suspect), including 932 deaths.
This is currently the largest EVD outbreak ever recorded. In response to the outbreak, a
number of unaffected countries have made a range of travel related advice or
recommendations.
In light of States Parties’ presentations and subsequent Committee discussions, several
challenges were noted for the affected countries:

their health systems are fragile with significant deficits in human, financial and
material resources, resulting in compromised ability to mount an adequate Ebola
outbreak control response;
1
The names and affiliations of the Emergency Committee Members and the Advisors are available at
http://www.who.int/ihr/procedures/emerg_comm_members_20140806/en/.
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
inexperience in dealing with Ebola outbreaks; misperceptions of the disease,
including how the disease is transmitted, are common and continue to be a major
challenge in some communities;
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high mobility of populations and several instances of cross-border movement of
travellers with infection;
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several generations of transmission have occurred in the three capital cities of
Conakry (Guinea); Monrovia (Liberia); and Freetown (Sierra Leone); and

a high number of infections have been identified among health-care workers,
highlighting inadequate infection control practices in many facilities.
The Committee provided the following advice to the Director-General for her consideration to
address the Ebola outbreak in accordance with IHR (2005).
States with Ebola Transmission

The Head of State should declare a national emergency; personally address the nation to
provide information on the situation, the steps being taken to address the outbreak and
the critical role of the community in ensuring its rapid control; provide immediate access
to emergency financing to initiate and sustain response operations; and ensure all
necessary measures are taken to mobilize and remunerate the necessary health care
workforce.

Health Ministers and other health leaders should assume a prominent leadership role in
coordinating and implementing emergency Ebola response measures, a fundamental
aspect of which should be to meet regularly with affected communities and to make site
visits to treatment centres.

States should activate their national disaster/emergency management mechanisms and
establish an emergency operation centre, under the authority of the Head of State, to
coordinate support across all partners, and across the information, security, finance and
other relevant sectors, to ensure efficient and effective implementation and monitoring of
comprehensive Ebola control measures. These measures must include infection
prevention and control (IPC), community awareness, surveillance, accurate laboratory
diagnostic testing, contact tracing and monitoring, case management, and communication
of timely and accurate information among countries. For all infected and high risks areas,
similar mechanisms should be established at the state/province and local levels to ensure
close coordination across all levels.

States should ensure that there is a large-scale and sustained effort to fully engage the
community – through local, religious and traditional leaders and healers – so communities
play a central role in case identification, contact tracing and risk education; the population
should be made fully aware of the benefits of early treatment.

It is essential that a strong supply pipeline be established to ensure that sufficient medical
commodities, especially personal protective equipment (PPE), are available to those who
appropriately need them, including health care workers, laboratory technicians, cleaning
staff, burial personnel and others that may come in contact with infected persons or
contaminated materials.

In areas of intense transmission (e.g. the cross border area of Sierra Leone, Guinea,
Liberia), the provision of quality clinical care, and material and psychosocial support for
the affected populations should be used as the primary basis for reducing the movement
of people, but extraordinary supplemental measures such as quarantine should be used as
considered necessary.
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States should ensure health care workers receive: adequate security measures for their
safety and protection; timely payment of salaries and, as appropriate, hazard pay; and
appropriate education and training on IPC, including the proper use of PPEs.

States should ensure that: treatment centres and reliable diagnostic laboratories are
situated as closely as possible to areas of transmission; that these facilities have adequate
numbers of trained staff, and sufficient equipment and supplies relative to the caseload;
that sufficient security is provided to ensure both the safety of staff and to minimize the
risk of premature removal of patients from treatment centres; and that staff are regularly
reminded and monitored to ensure compliance with IPC.

States should conduct exit screening of all persons at international airports, seaports and
major land crossings, for unexplained febrile illness consistent with potential Ebola
infection. The exit screening should consist of, at a minimum, a questionnaire, a
temperature measurement and, if there is a fever, an assessment of the risk that the fever
is caused by EVD. Any person with an illness consistent with EVD should not be
allowed to travel unless the travel is part of an appropriate medical evacuation.

There should be no international travel of Ebola contacts or cases, unless the travel is part
of an appropriate medical evacuation. To minimize the risk of international spread of
EVD:
o
Confirmed Cases should immediately be isolated and treated in an Ebola
Treatment Centre with no national or international travel until 2 Ebola-specific
diagnostic tests conducted at least 48 hours apart are negative;
o
Contacts (which do not include properly protected health workers and laboratory
staff who have had no unprotected exposure) should be monitored daily, with
restricted national travel and no international travel until 21 days after exposure;
o
Probable and suspect cases should immediately be isolated and their travel should
be restricted in accordance with their classification as either a confirmed case or
contact.

States should ensure funerals and burials are conducted by well-trained personnel, with
provision made for the presence of the family and cultural practices, and in accordance
with national health regulations, to reduce the risk of Ebola infection. The cross-border
movement of the human remains of deceased suspect, probable or confirmed EVD cases
should be prohibited unless authorized in accordance with recognized international
biosafety provisions.

States should ensure that appropriate medical care is available for the crews and staff of
airlines operating in the country, and work with the airlines to facilitate and harmonize
communications and management regarding symptomatic passengers under the IHR
(2005), mechanisms for contact tracing if required and the use of passenger locator
records where appropriate.

States with EVD transmission should consider postponing mass gatherings until EVD
transmission is interrupted.
States with a potential or confirmed Ebola Case, and unaffected States with land
borders with affected States

Unaffected States with land borders adjoining States with Ebola transmission should
urgently establish surveillance for clusters of unexplained fever or deaths due to febrile
illness; establish access to a qualified diagnostic laboratory for EVD; ensure that health
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workers are aware of and trained in appropriate IPC procedures; and establish rapid
response teams with the capacity to investigate and manage EVD cases and their contacts.

Any State newly detecting a suspect or confirmed Ebola case or contact, or clusters of
unexplained deaths due to febrile illness, should treat this as a health emergency, take
immediate steps in the first 24 hours to investigate and stop a potential Ebola outbreak by
instituting case management, establishing a definitive diagnosis, and undertaking contact
tracing and monitoring.

If Ebola transmission is confirmed to be occurring in the State, the full recommendations
for States with Ebola Transmission should be implemented, on either a national or
subnational level, depending on the epidemiologic and risk context.
All States
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There should be no general ban on international travel or trade; restrictions outlined in
these recommendations regarding the travel of EVD cases and contacts should be
implemented.

States should provide travelers to Ebola affected and at-risk areas with relevant
information on risks, measures to minimize those risks, and advice for managing a
potential exposure.
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States should be prepared to detect, investigate, and manage Ebola cases; this should
include assured access to a qualified diagnostic laboratory for EVD and, where
appropriate, the capacity to manage travelers originating from known Ebola-infected
areas who arrive at international airports or major land crossing points with unexplained
febrile illness.

The general public should be provided with accurate and relevant information on the
Ebola outbreak and measures to reduce the risk of exposure.

States should be prepared to facilitate the evacuation and repatriation of nationals (e.g.
health workers) who have been exposed to Ebola.
The Committee emphasized the importance of continued support by WHO and other national
and international partners towards the effective implementation and monitoring of these
recommendations.
Based on this advice, the reports made by affected States Parties and the currently available
information, the Director-General accepted the Committee’s assessment and on 8 August
2014 declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a Public Health Emergency of International
Concern (PHEIC). The Director-General endorsed the Committee’s advice and issued them
as Temporary Recommendations under IHR (2005) to reduce the international spread of
Ebola, effective 8 August 2014. The Director-General thanked the Committee Members and
Advisors for their advice and requested their reassessment of this situation within 3 months.
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